Looking for something different for a gift for your gardener? Or something for the cook in your life. It's not often that something completely novel shows up in the world of gardening, but the Aerogrow Aerogarden Indoors Hydroponics kit is something new, that uses technology that did not exist ten or fifteen years ago, and at one point was actually featured in Time magazine.

The Aerogrow system is a completely self contained hydroponics system. Hydroponics is a soil-less system, in which the plant's root system actually grow in enriched or fertilized water. Because the Aerogarden is a soil-less hydroponic system, it eliminates a lot of the mess associated with indoor container gardens. There is also no risk of soil-borne diseases or pests when using a hydroponics unit.

The Aerogrow Aerogarden kit includes not only the hydroponics system, complete with a computer controlled pump, but a built in adjustable grow light as well. Because of this level of automation, you can set the system up and not bother it for up to two weeks. It includes seed sets for many different types of plants. Ranging from herbs to to salad fixings to small vegetables there are seed kits for many different types of vegetables. You simply set the computer control for the type of seeds you have selected, and you are set to go.

Because this is an indoor hydroponic unit, the Aerogrow system can be used year round. Harvesting herbs and vegetables in the middle of winter is not a problem, and it can be used indoors in the heat of the Southwest summers to keep a supply of vegetables that would normally wilt that far south.